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Volume I, Foreign Schools, by Various
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Title: A Popular Handbook to the National Gallery, Volume I, Foreign Schools
Including by Special Permission Notes Collected from the
Works of John Ruskin
Author: Various
Release Date: May 24, 2014 [EBook #45737]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK POPULAR HANDBOOK--NATIONAL GALLERY ***
Produced by Richard Tonsing, Delphine Lettau, and the
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HANDBOOK TO THE NATIONAL GALLERY
THE NATIONAL GALLERY IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC ON WEEK-DAYS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. ON MONDAYS, TUESDAYS,
WEDNESDAYS, and SATURDAYS admission is free, and the Gallery is open during the following hours:—
January
From 10A.M.until 4P.M.
February
From 10A.M. until dusk.
March
April
From 10A.M.until 6 P.M.
May
June
July
August
September
October
From 10A.M.until dusk.
November
December
ON THURSDAYS AND FRIDAYS (
Students' Days) THE GALLERY IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
on payment of Sixpence each
person, from 11 A.M. to 4 P.M. in winter, and from 11 A.M. to 5 P.M. in summer.
On SUNDAYS the Gallery is open, free, from 2 P.M. till dusk, or 6 P.M. (according to the season).
☞ Persons desirous of becoming Students should address the Secretary and Keeper, National Gallery,
Trafalgar Square, S.W.
THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF BRITISH ART ("TATE GALLERY") IS OPEN UNDER THE SAME REGULATIONS, AND DURING THE SAME
hours, as those given above, except that Students' Days are Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
[Pg i]
[Pg ii]
A POPULAR HANDBOOK
TO THE
NATIONAL GALLERY
INCLUDING BY SPECIAL PERMISSION
NOTES COLLECTED FROM THE WORKS OF JOHN RUSKIN
Volume I.—FOREIGN SCHOOLS
COMPILED BY
E. T. COOK
WITH PREFACE BY JOHN RUSKIN, LL.D., D.C.L.
EIGHTH EDITION
MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED
ST. MARTIN'S STREET, LONDON
1922
[Pg iii]
A PICTURE WHICH IS WORTH BUYING IS ALSO WORTH SEEING. EVERY NOBLE PICTURE IS A MANUSCRIPT BOOK, OF WHICH
ONLY ONE COPY EXISTS, OR EVER CAN EXIST. A NATIONAL GALLERY IS A GREAT LIBRARY, OF WHICH THE BOOKS MUST BE
read upon their shelves (RUSKIN: Arrows of the Chace, i. 71).
There, the long dim galleries threading,
May the artist's eye behold
Breathing from the "deathless canvass"
Records of the years of old:
Pallas there, and Jove, and Juno,
"Take" once more their "walks abroad,"
Under Titian's fiery woodlands
And the saffron skies of Claude:
There the Amazons of Rubens
Lift the failing arm to strike,
And the pale light falls in masses
On the horsemen of Vandyke;
And in Berghem's pools reflected
Hang the cattle's graceful shapes,
And Murillo's soft boy-faces
Laugh amid the Seville grapes;
And all purest, loveliest fancies
That in poet's soul may dwell,
Started into shape and substance
At the touch of Raphael.
Lo! her wan arms folded meekly,
And the glory of her hair,
Falling as a robe around her,
Kneels the Magdalen in prayer;
And the white-robed Virgin-mother
Smiles, as centuries back she smiled,
Half in gladness, half in wonder,
On the calm face of her Child:—
And that mighty Judgment-vision
Tells how men essayed to climb
Up the ladder of the ages,
Past the frontier-walls of Time;
Heard the trumpet-echoes rolling
Thro' the phantom-peopled sky,
And the still Voice bid this mortal
Put on immortality.
CALVERLEY.
[Pg iv]
[Pg v]
CONTENTS
PAGE
PREFACE BY JOHN RUSKIN
vii
GENERAL INTRODUCTION, WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF THE NATIONAL GALLERY
x
GUIDE TO THE GALLERY AND PLAN OF THE ROOMS
xxv
INTRODUCTIONS TO THE SCHOOLS OF PAINTING:
THE EARLY FLORENTINE SCHOOL
1
THE FLORENTINE SCHOOL
8
THE SIENESE SCHOOL
14
THE LOMBARD SCHOOL
16
THE FERRARESE SCHOOL
19
THE UMBRIAN SCHOOL
22
THE VENETIAN SCHOOL
25
THE PADUAN SCHOOL
32
THE LATER ITALIAN SCHOOLS
34
THE EARLY FLEMISH AND THE GERMAN SCHOOLS
38
THE DUTCH SCHOOL
43
THE LATER FLEMISH SCHOOL
47
THE SPANISH SCHOOL
48
THE FRENCH SCHOOL
51
NUMERICAL CATALOGUE, WITH BIOGRAPHICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE NOTES
55
PICTURES ON LOAN
749
COPIES FROM OLD MASTERS
752
THE ARUNDEL SOCIETY'S COLLECTION
757
SCULPTURES AND MARBLES
770
APPENDIX I. INDEX LIST OF PAINTERS (with the subjects of their pictures)
771
APPENDIX II. INDEX LIST OF PICTURES
791
First Edition printed 1888.
Second Edition printed 1889.
Third Edition printed 1890.
Fourth Edition printed 1893.
Fifth Edition printed 1897.
Sixth Edition printed 1901.
Seventh Edition, Vol. I. printed 1909.
Eighth Edition, Vol. I. printed 1912.
Seventh Edition, Vol. II. printed 1912.
Re-issue 1922.
[Pg vii]
PREFACE BY JOHN RUSKIN
SO FAR AS I KNOW, THERE HAS NEVER YET BEEN COMPILED, FOR THE ILLUSTRATION OF ANY COLLECTION OF PAINTINGS WHATEVER, A SERIES
OF NOTES AT ONCE SO COPIOUS, CAREFULLY CHOSEN, AND USEFULLY ARRANGED, AS THIS WHICH HAS BEEN PREPARED, BY THE INDUSTRY
AND GOOD SENSE OF MR. EDWARD T. COOK, TO BE OUR COMPANION THROUGH THE MAGNIFICENT ROOMS OF OUR OWN NATIONAL
GALLERY; WITHOUT QUESTION NOW THE MOST IMPORTANT COLLECTION OF PAINTINGS IN EUROPE FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE GENERAL
STUDENT. OF COURSE THE FLORENTINE SCHOOL MUST ALWAYS BE STUDIED IN FLORENCE, THE DUTCH IN HOLLAND, AND THE ROMAN IN
ROME; BUT TO OBTAIN A CLEAR KNOWLEDGE OF THEIR RELATIONS TO EACH OTHER, AND COMPARE WITH THE BEST ADVANTAGE THE
CHARACTERS IN WHICH THEY SEVERALLY EXCEL, THE THOUGHTFUL SCHOLARS OF ANY FOREIGN COUNTRY OUGHT NOW TO BECOME PILGRIMS TO
the Dome—(such as it is)—of Trafalgar Square.
WE HAVE INDEED—BE IT TO OUR HUMILIATION REMEMBERED—SMALL REASON TO CONGRATULATE OURSELVES ON THE ENLARGEMENT OF
THE COLLECTION NOW BELONGING TO THE PUBLIC, BY THE SALE OF THE FORMER POSSESSIONS OF OUR NOBLES. BUT SINCE THE PARKS AND
CASTLES WHICH WERE ONCE THE PRIDE, BEAUTY, AND POLITICAL STRENGTH OF ENGLAND ARE DOOMED BY THE PROGRESS OF DEMOCRACY
TO BE CUT UP INTO LOTS ON BUILDING LEASES, AND HAVE THEIR LIBRARIES AND PICTURES SOLD AT SOTHEBY'S AND CHRISTIE'S, WE MAY AT
LEAST BE THANKFUL THAT THE FUNDS PLACED BY THE GOVERNMENT AT THE DISPOSAL OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE NATIONAL GALLERY HAVE
PERMITTED THEM TO SAVE SO MUCH FROM THE WRECK OF ENGLISH MANSIONS AND ITALIAN MONASTERIES, AND ENRICH THE RECREATIONS
of our metropolis with graceful interludes by Perugino and Raphael.
IT WILL BE AT ONCE FELT BY THE READERS OF THE FOLLOWING CATALOGUE THAT IT TELLS THEM, ABOUT EVERY PICTURE AND ITS PAINTER, JUST
THE THINGS THEY WISHED TO KNOW. THEY MAY REST SATISFIED ALSO THAT IT TELLS THEM THESE THINGS ON THE BEST HISTORICAL
AUTHORITIES, AND THAT THEY HAVE IN ITS CONCISE PAGES AN ACCOUNT OF THE RISE AND DECLINE OF THE ARTS OF THE OLD MASTERS, AND
RECORD OF THEIR PERSONAL CHARACTERS AND WORLDLY STATE AND FORTUNES, LEAVING NOTHING OF AUTHENTIC TRADITION, AND ESSENTIAL
interest, untold.
AS A COLLECTION OF CRITICAL REMARKS BY ESTEEMED JUDGES, AND OF CLEARLY FORMED OPINIONS BY EARNEST LOVERS OF ART, THE LITTLE
book possesses a metaphysical interest quite as great as its historical one. Of course the first persons to be consulted on
THE MERIT OF A PICTURE ARE THOSE FOR WHOM THE ARTIST PAINTED IT: WITH THOSE IN AFTER GENERATIONS WHO HAVE SYMPATHY WITH
THEM; ONE DOES NOT ASK A ROUNDHEAD OR A REPUBLICAN HIS OPINION OF THE VANDYKE AT WILTON, NOR A PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER
HIS IMPRESSIONS OF THE SISTINE CHAPEL:—BUT FROM ANY ONE HONESTLY TAKING PLEASURE IN ANY SORT OF PAINTING, IT IS ALWAYS
WORTH WHILE TO HEAR THE GROUNDS OF HIS ADMIRATION, IF HE CAN HIMSELF ANALYSE THEM. FOR THOSE WHO TAKE NO PLEASURE IN
painting, or who are offended by its inevitable faults, any form of criticism is insolent. Opinion is only valuable when it
gilds with various rays
These painted clouds that beautify our days.
WHEN I LAST LINGERED IN THE GALLERY BEFORE MY OLD FAVOURITES, I THOUGHT THEM MORE WONDERFUL THAN EVER BEFORE; BUT AS I
DRAW TOWARDS THE CLOSE OF LIFE, I FEEL THAT THE REAL WORLD IS MORE WONDERFUL YET: THAT PAINTING HAS NOT YET FULFILLED HALF HER
MISSION,—SHE HAS TOLD US ONLY OF THE HEROISM OF MEN AND THE HAPPINESS OF ANGELS: SHE MAY PERHAPS RECORD IN FUTURE THE
beauty of a world whose mortal inhabitants are happy, and which angels may be glad to visit.
J. RUSKIN.
April 1888.
[Pg viii]
[Pg ix]
[Pg x]
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
WITH SOME
ACCOUNT OF THE NATIONAL GALLERY
Division into Volumes.—IN ARRANGEMENT AND, TO SOME DEGREE, IN CONTENTS THE HANDBOOK IN ITS PRESENT FORM DIFFERS
FROM THE EARLIER EDITIONS. IMPORTANT CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE DURING THE LAST FEW YEARS IN THE CONSTITUTION AND SCOPE OF
THE NATIONAL GALLERY ITSELF. THE GALLERY NOW CONSISTS OF TWO BRANCHES CONTROLLED BY A SINGLE BOARD OF TRUSTEES: (1) THE
"NATIONAL GALLERY" IN TRAFALGAR SQUARE; AND (2) THE "TATE GALLERY" OR, AS IT IS OFFICIALLY CALLED, THE "NATIONAL GALLERY OF
BRITISH ART" ON THE THAMES EMBANKMENT AT MILLBANK.
[1] AT THE FORMER GALLERY ARE HUNG ALL THE PICTURES BELONGING TO
FOREIGN SCHOOLS. PICTURES OF THE BRITISH SCHOOLS ARE HUNG PARTLY IN TRAFALGAR SQUARE AND PARTLY AT MILLBANK, AND FROM
TIME TO TIME PICTURES ARE MOVED FROM ONE GALLERY TO THE OTHER. IT HAS THEREFORE BEEN DECIDED TO DIVIDE THE HANDBOOK
INTO VOLUMES ACCORDING TO SUBJECT RATHER THAN ACCORDING TO POSITION. VOLUME I. DEALS WITH THE FOREIGN SCHOOLS (NATIONAL
GALLERY); VOLUME II., WITH THE BRITISH SCHOOLS (NATIONAL GALLERY AND TATE GALLERY). BY THIS DIVISION THE CONVENIENCE OF
THE BOOKS FOR PURPOSES OF REFERENCE OR USE IN THE GALLERIES WILL NOT BE DISTURBED BY FUTURE CHANGES IN THE
ALLOCATION OF
British pictures between Trafalgar Square and Millbank respectively.
How to use the Handbook.—THE ONE FIXED POINT IN THE ARRANGEMENT OF THE NATIONAL GALLERY IS THE NUMBERING OF THE
PICTURES. THE NUMBERS AFFIXED TO THE FRAMES, AND REFERRED TO IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS AND CATALOGUES, ARE NEVER CHANGED.
THIS IS AN EXCELLENT RULE, THE OBSERVANCE OF WHICH, IN THE CASE OF SOME FOREIGN GALLERIES, WOULD HAVE SAVED NO LITTLE
inconvenience to students and visitors. In the present, as in the preceding editions of the Handbook, advantage has been
TAKEN OF THIS FIXED SYSTEM OF NUMBERING; AND IN THE PAGES DEVOTED TO THE BIOGRAPHICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE THE
PICTURES ARE ENUMERATED IN THEIR NUMERICAL ORDER. THE INTRODUCTORY REMARKS ON THE CHIEF SCHOOLS OF PAINTING REPRESENTED
IN THE GALLERY ARE BROUGHT TOGETHER AT THE BEGINNING OF THE BOOK. THE VISITOR WHO DESIRES TO MAKE AN HISTORICAL STUDY OF
THE COLLECTION MAY, IF HE WILL, GLANCE FIRST AT THE GENERAL INTRODUCTION GIVEN TO THE PICTURES IN EACH SCHOOL; AND THEN, AS HE
MAKES HIS SURVEY OF THE ROOMS DEVOTED TO THE SEVERAL SCHOOLS, NOTE THE NUMBERS ON THE FRAMES, AND REFER TO THE
NUMERICAL CATALOGUE FOLLOWING THE SERIES OF INTRODUCTIONS. ON THE OTHER HAND, THE VISITOR WHO DOES NOT CARE TO USE THE
HANDBOOK IN THIS WAY HAS ONLY TO SKIP THE PRELIMINARY CHAPTERS, AND TO PASS AT ONCE, AS HE FINDS HIMSELF BEFORE THIS
picture or that, to the Numerical Catalogue. For the convenience, again, of visitors or students desiring to find the works
OF SOME PARTICULAR PAINTER, THE FULL AND DETAILED INDEX OF PAINTERS, FIRST INTRODUCED IN THE THIRD EDITION, HAS HERE BEEN
RETAINED. REFERENCES TO ALL THE PICTURES BY EACH PAINTER, AND TO THE PAGE WHERE SOME ACCOUNT OF HIS LIFE AND WORK IS
GIVEN, WILL BE FOUND IN THIS INDEX. FINALLY, A CONCISE NUMERICAL INDEX IS GIVEN, WHEREIN THE READER MAY FIND AT ONCE THE
PARTICULARS OF ACQUISITION, THE
provenance, AND OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES REGARDING EVERY PICTURE (BY A FOREIGN ARTIST) IN THE
possession of the National Gallery, wherever deposited.
History of the National Gallery.—"FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE GENERAL STUDENT, THE NATIONAL GALLERY IS NOW," SAID MR.
RUSKIN IN 1888, "WITHOUT QUESTION THE MOST IMPORTANT COLLECTION OF PAINTINGS IN EUROPE." FORTY YEARS BEFORE HE SAID OF
the same Gallery that it was "an European jest." The growth of the Gallery from jest to glory[2] may be traced in THE FINAL
INDEX TO THIS BOOK, WHERE THE PICTURES ARE ENUMERATED IN THE ORDER OF THEIR ACQUISITION. MANY INCIDENTS CONNECTED WITH
THE ACQUISITION OF PARTICULAR PICTURES WILL ALSO BE FOUND CHRONICLED IN THE CATALOGUE
[3]; BUT IT MAY HERE BE INTERESTING TO
SUMMARISE THE HISTORY OF THE INSTITUTION. THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ENGLAND DATES FROM THE YEAR 1824, WHEN THE ANGERSTEIN
COLLECTION OF THIRTY-EIGHT PICTURES WAS PURCHASED. THEY WERE EXHIBITED FOR SOME YEARS IN MR. ANGERSTEIN'S HOUSE IN PALL
MALL; FOR IT WAS NOT TILL 1832 THAT THE BUILDING IN WHICH THE COLLECTION IS NOW DEPOSITED WAS BEGUN. THIS BUILDING, WHICH
WAS DESIGNED EXPRESSLY FOR THE PURPOSE BY WILLIAM WILKINS, R.A., WAS OPENED TO THE PUBLIC IN 1838.
[4] AT THAT TIME,
HOWEVER, THE GALLERY COMPRISED ONLY SIX ROOMS, THE REMAINING SPACE IN THE BUILDING BEING DEVOTED TO THE ROYAL
ACADEMY OF ARTS—WHOSE INSCRIPTION MAY STILL BE SEEN ABOVE A DISUSED DOORWAY TO THE RIGHT OF THE MAIN ENTRANCE. IN
1860 THE FIRST ENLARGEMENT WAS MADE—CONSISTING OF ONE NEW ROOM. IN 1869 THE ROYAL ACADEMY REMOVED TO
BURLINGTON HOUSE, AND FIVE MORE ROOMS WERE GAINED FOR THE NATIONAL GALLERY. IN 1876 THE SO-CALLED "NEW WING" WAS
ADDED, ERECTED FROM A DESIGN BY E. M. BARRY, R.A. IN THAT YEAR THE WHOLE COLLECTION WAS FOR THE FIRST TIME HOUSED UNDER
A SINGLE ROOF. THE ENGLISH SCHOOL HAD, SINCE ITS INCREASE IN 1847 BY THE VERNON GIFT, BEEN EXHIBITED FIRST AT MARLBOROUGH
HOUSE (UP TO 1859), AND AFTERWARDS AT SOUTH KENSINGTON. IN 1884 A FURTHER ADDITION OF FIVE ROOMS WAS COMMENCED
UNDER THE SUPERINTENDENCE OF SIR JOHN TAYLOR, OF HER MAJESTY'S OFFICE OF WORKS; THESE ROOMS (NUMBERED I., II., III.,
V., VI. ON THE PLAN), WITH A NEW STAIRCASE AND OTHER IMPROVEMENTS, WERE OPENED TO THE PUBLIC IN 1887; AND THE GALLERY
THEN CONSISTED OF TWENTY-TWO ROOMS, BESIDES AMPLE ACCOMMODATION
FOR THE OFFICES OF THE DIRECTOR AND THE CONVENIENCE
OF THE STUDENTS.
[5] A FURTHER EXTENSION OF THE GALLERY, ON THE SITE OF ST. GEORGE'S BARRACKS, WAS COMPLETED IN 1911; THIS
CONSISTED OF SIX NEW ROOMS.[6] AT THE SAME TIME THE OLDER PORTIONS OF THE BUILDING WERE RECONSTRUCTED, IN ORDER TO MAKE
it fire-proof. The rearrangement of the Gallery is described below (p. xxv).
Growth of the Collection.—THIS GROWTH IN THE GALLERIES HAS, HOWEVER, BARELY SUFFICED TO KEEP PACE WITH THE GROWTH
OF THE PICTURES. IN 1838 THE TOTAL NUMBER OF NATIONAL PICTURES WAS STILL ONLY 150. IN 1875 THE NUMBER WAS 926. IN 1911
THE NUMBER OF PICTURES, ETC. (EXCLUSIVE OF THE TURNER WATER-COLOURS) VESTED IN THE TRUSTEES OF THE GALLERY WAS NEARLY
2870. THIS RESULT HAS BEEN DUE TO THE COMBINATION OF PRIVATE GENEROSITY AND STATE AID WHICH IS CHARACTERISTIC OF OUR
COUNTRY. THE VERNON GIFT OF ENGLISH PICTURES IN 1847 ADDED OVER 150 AT A STROKE. TEN YEARS LATER TURNER'S BEQUEST
ADDED (BESIDES SOME 19,000 DRAWINGS IN VARIOUS STAGES OF COMPLETION) 100 PICTURES. IN 1876 THE WYNN ELLIS GIFT OF
FOREIGN PICTURES ADDED NEARLY ANOTHER HUNDRED. IN 1910 THE BEQUEST OF MR. GEORGE SALTING ADDED 192 PICTURES (160
foreign and 32 British). Particulars of other gifts and bequests may be gathered from the Appendix. Parliamentary grants
[Pg xi]
[Pg xii]
[Pg xiii]
HAVE OF LATE YEARS BEEN SUPPLEMENTED BY PRIVATE SUBSCRIPTIONS AND BEQUESTS. IN 1890 MESSRS. N. M. ROTHSCHILD AND
SONS, SIR EDWARD GUINNESS, BART. (NOW LORD IVEAGH), AND MR. CHARLES COTES, EACH CONTRIBUTED £10,000 TOWARDS THE
PURCHASE OF THREE IMPORTANT PICTURES (1314-5-6); WHILST IN 1904, MR. ASTOR, MR. BEIT, LORD BURTON, LORD IVEAGH, MR.
PIERPONT MORGAN, AND LADY WANTAGE SUBSCRIBED £21,000 TO SUPPLEMENT A GOVERNMENT GRANT FOR THE PURCHASE OF
TITIAN'S "PORTRAIT OF ARIOSTO" (1944). IN 1903 A "NATIONAL ART-COLLECTIONS FUND" WAS ESTABLISHED FOR ORGANISING PRIVATE
BENEFACTIONS TO THE GALLERIES AND MUSEUMS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM; IT WAS THROUGH THIS AGENCY THAT THE FAMOUS "VENUS"
BY VELAZQUEZ (2057), IN 1906, AND THE STILL MORE FAMOUS "CHRISTINA, DUCHESS OF MILAN," BY HOLBEIN (2475), IN 1909,
WERE ADDED TO THE NATIONAL GALLERY. THE SAME FUND CONTRIBUTED ALSO TO THE
PURCHASE IN 1911, OF THE CASTLE HOWARD
Mabuse (2790). Mr. Francis Clarke bequeathed £23,104, and Mr. T. D. Lewis £10,000, the interest upon which sums
WAS TO BE EXPENDED IN PICTURES. MR. R. C. WHEELER LEFT A SUM OF £2655, THE INTEREST ON WHICH WAS TO PURCHASE
English
PICTURES. MR. J. L. WALKER LEFT £10,000, NOT TO FORM A FUND, BUT TO BE SPENT ON "A PICTURE OR PICTURES." IN 1903 A LARGE
BEQUEST WAS MADE TO THE GALLERY BY COLONEL TEMPLE WEST. THE WILL WAS DISPUTED; BUT BY THE SETTLEMENT ULTIMATELY
EFFECTED (1907, 1908) A SUM OF £99,909 WAS RECEIVED, OF WHICH THE INTEREST IS AVAILABLE FOR THE PURCHASE OF PICTURES. IN
1906 MR. C. E. G. MACKERELL MADE A BEQUEST, AND THIS WILL ALSO WAS DISPUTED. BY THE SETTLEMENT (1908) A SUM OF
£2859 WAS RECEIVED, AND A FURTHER SUM WILL BE FORTHCOMING AT THE EXPIRATION OF CERTAIN LIFE-INTERESTS, OF WHICH SUMS,
AGAIN, THE INTEREST WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR THE PURCHASE OF PICTURES. APPENDIX II. SHOWS THE PICTURES ACQUIRED FROM THESE
SEVERAL FUNDS. THIS GROWTH OF THE GALLERY BY PRIVATE GIFT AND PUBLIC EXPENDITURE CONCURRENTLY ACCORDS WITH THE MANNER OF
ITS BIRTH. ONE OF THE FACTORS WHICH DECIDED LORD LIVERPOOL IN FAVOUR OF THE PURCHASE OF MR. ANGERSTEIN'S COLLECTION WAS
the generous offer of a private citizen—Sir George Beaumont.
Value of the Pictures.—SIR GEORGE'S GIFT, AS WE SHALL SEE FROM A LITTLE STORY ATTACHING TO ONE OF HIS PICTURES (61), WAS
NOT OF THAT WHICH COST HIM NOTHING IN THE GIVING. THE GENEROSITY OF PRIVATE DONORS, WHICH THAT LITTLE STORY PLACES IN SO
PLEASING AND EVEN PATHETIC A LIGHT, HAS BEEN ACCOMPANIED BY PUBLIC EXPENDITURE AT ONCE LIBERAL AND PRUDENT. THE TOTAL
COST OF THE COLLECTION SO FAR HAS BEEN ABOUT £900,000
[7]; AT PRESENT PRICES THERE IS LITTLE DOUBT THAT THE PICTURES SO
ACQUIRED COULD BE SOLD FOR SEVERAL TIMES THAT SUM. IT WILL BE SEEN IN THE FOLLOWING PAGES THAT THERE HAVE BEEN SOME BAD
BARGAINS; BUT THESE MOSTLY BELONG TO THE PERIOD WHEN RESPONSIBILITY WAS DIVIDED, IN AN UNDEFINED WAY, BETWEEN THE
TRUSTEES AND THE KEEPER. THE PRESENT ORGANISATION OF THE GALLERY DATES FROM 1855, WHEN, AS THE RESULT OF SEVERAL
COMMISSIONS AND COMMITTEES, A TREASURY MINUTE WAS DRAWN UP—APPOINTING A DIRECTOR TO PRESIDE OVER THE GALLERY,
AND PLACING AN ANNUAL GRANT OF MONEY AT HIS DISPOSAL.
[8] The CURIOUS READER MAY TRACE THE USE OF THIS DISCRETION MADE BY
SUCCESSIVE DIRECTORS IN THE TABLE OF PRICES GIVEN IN THE FINAL INDEX—A TABLE WHICH WOULD AFFORD MATERIAL FOR AN INSTRUCTIVE
HISTORY OF RECENT FASHIONS IN ART. THE ANNUAL GRANT HAS FROM TIME TO TIME BEEN SUPPLEMENTED BY SPECIAL GRANTS, OF WHICH
THE MOST NOTABLE WERE THOSE FOR THE PEEL COLLECTION, THE BLENHEIM PICTURES, THE LONGFORD CASTLE PICTURES, TWO NEW
REMBRANDTS (1674-5), TITIAN'S "ARIOSTO" (1944), HOLBEIN'S "DUCHESS OF MILAN" (2475), AND MABUSE'S "ADORATION OF THE
MAGI" (2790) RESPECTIVELY. THE PEEL COLLECTION CONSISTED OF SEVENTY-SEVEN PICTURES. THE VOTE WAS PROPOSED IN THE
HOUSE OF COMMONS ON MARCH 20, 1871, AND IN SUPPORTING IT THE LATE SIR W. H. GREGORY (ONE OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE
GALLERY) ALLUDED TO "THE ADDITIONAL INTEREST CONNECTED WITH THE COLLECTION, FOR IT WAS THE LABOUR OF LOVE OF ONE OF OUR
GREATEST ENGLISH STATESMEN, AND IT WAS GRATIFYING TO SEE THAT THE TASTE OF THE AMATEUR WAS ON A PAR WITH THE SAGACITY OF
THE MINISTER, FOR THROUGHOUT THIS LARGE COLLECTION THERE COULD HARDLY BE NAMED MORE THAN TWO OR THREE PICTURES WHICH
WERE NOT OF THE VERY HIGHEST ORDER OF MERIT." THE PRICE PAID FOR THIS COLLECTION, £70,000, WAS EXCEEDINGLY MODERATE.
[9]
THE "PRINCELY" PRICE GIVEN FOR THE TWO BLENHEIM PICTURES IS MORE OPEN TO EXCEPTION; BUT IF THE PRICE WAS UNPRECEDENTED,
so also was the sale of so superb a Raphael in the present day unprecedented.
Features of the Collection.—The result of the expenditure with which successive Parliaments have thus supplemented
PRIVATE GIFTS HAS BEEN TO RAISE THE NATIONAL GALLERY TO A POSITION SECOND TO THAT OF NO SINGLE COLLECTION IN THE WORLD. THE
NUMBER OF PICTURES NOW ON VIEW IN TRAFALGAR SQUARE, EXCLUSIVE OF THE WATER-COLOURS, IS ABOUT 1600.
[10] THIS NUMBER IS
very MUCH SMALLER THAN THAT OF THE GALLERIES AT DRESDEN, MADRID, AND PARIS—THE THREE LARGEST IN THE WORLD. ON THE OTHER
HAND NO FOREIGN GALLERY HAS BEEN SO CAREFULLY ACQUIRED, OR SO WISELY WEEDED, AS OURS. AN ACT WAS PASSED IN 1856
AUTHORISING THE SALE OF UNSUITABLE WORKS, WHILST ANOTHER PASSED IN 1883 SANCTIONED THE THINNING OF THE GALLERY IN FAVOUR OF
PROVINCIAL COLLECTIONS. THERE ARE STILL MANY SERIOUS GAPS. IN THE ITALIAN SCHOOL WE HAVE NO WORK BY MASACCIO—THE FIRST
OF THE NATURALISERS IN LANDSCAPE; ONLY ONE DOUBTFUL EXAMPLE OF PALMA VECCHIO, THE GREATEST OF THE BERGAMESE PAINTERS;
NO FIRST-RATE PORTRAIT BY TINTORET. THE FRENCH SCHOOL IS LITTLE REPRESENTED—AN OMISSION WHICH IS, HOWEVER, SPLENDIDLY
SUPPLIED IN THE WALLACE COLLECTION AT HERTFORD HOUSE, NOW THE PROPERTY OF THE NATION. IN THE NATIONAL GALLERY ITSELF THERE
IS NO PICTURE BY "THE INCOMPARABLE WATTEAU," THE "PRINCE OF COURT PAINTERS." THE SPECIMENS OF THE SPANISH SCHOOL ARE
FEW IN NUMBER, THOUGH VELAZQUEZ IS NOW FINELY REPRESENTED; WHILST AMONGST THE OLD MASTERS OF OUR OWN BRITISH SCHOOL
THERE ARE MANY GAPS FOR SOME FUTURE VERNON OR TATE TO FILL UP. BUT ON THE OTHER HAND WE CAN SET AGAINST THESE
DEFICIENCIES MANY PAINTERS WHO, AND EVEN SCHOOLS WHICH, CAN NOWHERE—IN ONE PLACE—BE SO WELL STUDIED AS IN
TRAFALGAR SQUARE. THE WORKS OF CRIVELLI—ONE OF THE QUAINTEST AND MOST CHARMING OF THE EARLIER VENETIANS—WHICH HANG
TOGETHER IN ONE ROOM; THE WORKS OF THE BRESCIAN SCHOOL, INCLUDING THOSE OF ITS SPLENDID PORTRAIT PAINTERS—MORONI AND IL
MORETTO; THE SERIES OF RAPHAELS, SHOWING EACH OF HIS SUCCESSIVE STYLES; AND IN THE ENGLISH SCHOOL THE UNRIVALLED AND
INCOMPARABLE COLLECTION OF TURNERS,—ARE AMONGST THE PARTICULAR GLORIES OF THE NATIONAL COLLECTION. HISTORICALLY THE
COLLECTION IS REMARKABLY INSTRUCTIVE. THIS IS A POINT WHICH SUCCESSIVE DIRECTORS HAVE, ON THE RECOMMENDATION OF ROYAL
COMMISSIONS, KEPT STEADILY IN VIEW; AND WHICH HAS BEEN VERY CLEARLY SHOWN SINCE THE SUCCESSIVE RE-ARRANGEMENTS OF THE
Gallery after the extension in 1887.
Scope of the Handbook.—IT IS IN ORDER TO HELP VISITORS TO TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE OF THE OPPORTUNITIES THUS AFFORDED FOR
HISTORICAL STUDY THAT I HAVE FURNISHED SOME GENERAL INTRODUCTIONS TO THE VARIOUS SCHOOLS OF PAINTING REPRESENTED IN THE
[Pg xiv]
[Pg xv]
[Pg xvi]
NATIONAL GALLERY. WITH REGARD TO THE NOTES IN THE NUMERICAL CATALOGUE, MY OBJECT HAS BEEN TO INTEREST THE DAILY
INCREASING NUMBERS OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC WHO VISIT THE NATIONAL GALLERY.
THE FULL INVENTORIES AND OTHER DETAILS, WHICH ARE
NECESSARY FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF PICTURES, AND WHICH ARE MOST ADMIRABLY GIVEN IN THE (UNABRIDGED) OFFICIAL CATALOGUE—
WOULD OBVIOUSLY BE OUT OF PLACE IN A BOOK DESIGNED FOR POPULAR USE. NOR, SECONDLY, WOULD ANY ELABORATE TECHNICAL
CRITICISM HAVE BEEN IN KEEPING—EVEN HAD IT BEEN IN MY POWER TO OFFER IT—WITH A GUIDE INTENDED FOR UNPROFESSIONAL
READERS. C. R. LESLIE, THE FATHER OF THE PRESENT ACADEMICIAN, TELLS HOW HE "SPOKE ONE DAY TO STOTHARD OF HIS TOUCHING
PICTURE OF A SAILOR TAKING LEAVE OF HIS WIFE OR SWEETHEART. 'I AM GLAD YOU LIKE IT, SIR,' SAID STOTHARD; 'IT WAS PAINTED WITH
JAPANNER'S GOLD SIZE.'" I HAVE BEEN MAINLY CONCERNED WITH THE SENTIMENT OF THE PICTURES, AND HAVE FOR THE MOST PART LEFT
the "japanner's gold size" alone.
Mr. Ruskin's Notes.—IT HAD OFTEN OCCURRED TO ME, AS A STUDENT OF MR. RUSKIN'S WRITINGS, THAT A COLLECTION OF HIS
SCATTERED NOTES UPON PAINTERS AND PICTURES NOW IN THE NATIONAL GALLERY WOULD BE OF GREAT VALUE. I APPLIED TO MR. RUSKIN
IN THE MATTER, AND HE READILY PERMITTED ME TO MAKE WHAT USE I LIKED OF ANY, OR ALL, OF HIS WRITINGS. THE GENEROSITY OF THIS
PERMISSION, WHICH WAS SUPPLEMENTED BY CONSTANT ENCOURAGEMENT AND COUNSEL, MAKES ME THE MORE ANXIOUS TO EXPLAIN
CLEARLY THE LIMITS OF HIS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE BOOK. HE DID NOT ATTEMPT TO REVISE, OR CORRECT, EITHER MY GLEANINGS FROM HIS
OWN BOOKS, OR THE NOTES ADDED BY MYSELF FROM OTHER SOURCES. BEYOND HIS GENERAL PERMISSION TO ME TO REPRINT HIS PAST
WRITINGS, MR. RUSKIN HAD, THEREFORE, NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS COMPILATION WHATEVER. I SHOULD MORE PARTICULARLY STATE THAT
THE PAGES UPON THE TURNER GALLERY IN THE SECOND VOLUME WERE NOT EVEN GLANCED AT BY HIM. THE CRITICISMS FROM HIS
BOOKS THERE COLLECTED REPRESENT, THEREFORE, SOLELY HIS ATTITUDE TO TURNER AT THE TIME THEY WERE SEVERALLY WRITTEN. BUT,
SUBJECT TO THIS DEDUCTION, THE PASSAGES FROM RUSKIN ARRANGED THROUGHOUT THE FOLLOWING PAGES WILL, I HOPE, ENABLE THE
Handbook TO SERVE A SECOND PURPOSE. ANY STUDENT WHO GOES THROUGH THE GALLERY UNDER RUSKIN'S GUIDANCE—EVEN AT
SECOND-HAND—CAN HARDLY FAIL TO OBTAIN SOME INSIGHT INTO THE SYSTEM OF ART-TEACHING EMBODIED IN HIS WORKS. THE FULL
EXPOSITION OF THAT SYSTEM MUST STILL BE STUDIED IN THE ORIGINAL TEXT-BOOKS, BUT HERE THE READER MAY FIND A SERIES OF
examples and illustrations which will perhaps make the study more vivid and actual.
Attribution of Pictures.—In the matter of attributions, THE RULE, IN THE SUCCESSIVE EDITIONS OF THIS HANDBOOK, HAS BEEN
TO FOLLOW THE AUTHORITY OF THE OFFICIAL LABELS AND CATALOGUES. CRITICISM HAS BEEN VERY BUSY OF LATE YEARS WITH THE
TRADITIONAL ATTRIBUTION OF PICTURES IN OUR GALLERY, AND SUCCESSIVE DIRECTORS INTRODUCE THEIR SEVERAL, AND SOMETIMES
CONTRADICTORY, OPINIONS ON SUCH POINTS. THUS MORE THAN ONE OLD MASTER HITHERTO SUPPOSED TO BE REPRESENTED IN THE
GALLERY HAS BEEN BANISHED, AND OTHERS, WHOSE FAME HAD NOT PREVIOUSLY BEEN BRUITED ABROAD, HAVE BEEN CREDITED WITH
FAMILIAR MASTERPIECES. THUS—TO NOTICE SOME OF THE CHANGES MADE BY SIR EDWARD POYNTER (CATALOGUE OF 1906)—
AMONG THE VENETIANS, BASTIANI AND CATENA HAVE COME INTO FAVOUR. TO BASTIANI WAS GIVEN THE PICTURE OF "THE DOGE
GIOVANNI MOCENIGO" (750) WHICH FOR FORTY YEARS HAS BEEN EXHIBITED AS A WORK BY CARPACCIO; THAT CHARMING PAINTER NOW
DISAPPEARS FROM THE NATIONAL GALLERY. TO CATENA IS ATTRIBUTED THE "ST. JEROME" (694), WHICH FOR SEVERAL DECADES HAD
BEEN CITED AS PECULIARLY CHARACTERISTIC OF BELLINI. TO CATENA ALSO IS GIVEN THE "WARRIOR IN ADORATION" (234). IN THIS CASE
CATENA'S GAIN IS GIORGIONE'S LOSS. BUT ELSEWHERE GIORGIONE HAS RECEIVED COMPENSATION FOR DISTURBANCE. TO HIM HAS BEEN
GIVEN THE "ADORATION OF THE MAGI" (1160), WHICH SOME CRITICS ATTRIBUTED TO CATENA. THE BEAUTIFUL "ECCE HOMO" (1310),
WHICH WAS SOLD AS A CARLO DOLCI AND BOUGHT BY SIR FREDERICK BURTON AS A BELLINI, WAS ASCRIBED BY SIR EDWARD POYNTER
to Cima. One of the minor Venetians—Basaiti, who enjoyed a high reputation at the National Gallery—was deprived of
THE PRETTY "MADONNA OF THE MEADOW" (599), WHICH WENT TO SWELL THE OPULENT RECORD OF BELLINI. AMONG THE FLORENTINES,
A NEWCOMER IS ZENOBIO MACCHIAVELLI, TO WHOM IS ATTRIBUTED AN ALTAR-PIECE (586) FORMERLY CATALOGUED UNDER THE NAME OF
FRA FILIPPO LIPPI. COSIMO ROSSELLI, HITHERTO CREDITED WITH A LARGE "ST. JEROME IN THE DESERT" (227), NOW DISAPPEARS; IT
WAS LABELLED "TUSCAN SCHOOL," AND WAS ANY ONE'S PICTURE. THE ATTRIBUTION OF PICTURES BELONGING TO THE GROUP OF THE TWO
LIPPIS AND BOTTICELLI IS STILL VERY UNCERTAIN. A NOTE ON THESE CRITICAL DIVERSITIES WILL BE FOUND UNDER NO. 293. AMONG
ALTERATIONS IN OTHER SCHOOLS WE MAY NOTE THE SUBSTITUTION OF ZURBARAN FOR VELAZQUEZ AS THE PAINTER OF "THE NATIVITY," NO.
232; THE ATTRIBUTION TO PATINIR, THE FLEMING, OF A LANDSCAPE FORMERLY LABELLED "VENETIAN SCHOOL" (1298); AND THE
DISCOVERY OF JACOB VAN OOST AS THE PAINTER OF A CHARMING "PORTRAIT OF A
BOY" (1137), WHICH, BUT FOR AN IMPOSSIBILITY IN
the dates, might well continue to pass as Isaac van Ostade's.
SUCH WERE THE PRINCIPAL CHANGES MADE IN THE ASCRIPTIONS OF THE PICTURES DURING SIR EDWARD POYNTER'S DIRECTORATE. HIS
successor, Sir Charles Holroyd, has recently made many others, as shown in the following list:
97 (P. Veronese), now described as "after Veronese."
215, 216 (School of T. Gaddi), now assigned to Lorenzo Monaco (see 1897).
227 (Florentine School), now assigned to Francesco Botticini (a Tuscan painter of the 15th century).
276 (School of Giotto), now assigned to Spinello Aretino; for whom, see 581.
296 (Florentine School), now assigned to Verrocchio; see below, p. 262.
568 (School of Giotto), NOW ASSIGNED TO Angelo di Taddeo Gaddi, A PUPIL OF GIOTTO'S CHIEF DISCIPLE,
Taddeo Gaddi (for whom, see p. 211).
579 (School of Taddeo Gaddi), NOW ASSIGNED TO Niccolo di Pietro Gerini, A PAINTER OF FLORENCE WHO
was inscribed in the guild in 1368 and died in 1415. Our picture is dated 1387.
579A (School of Taddeo Gaddi), now assigned to Gaddi's pupil, Giovanni da Milano.
581 (Spinello Aretino), now assigned to Orcagna; for whom, see 569.
[Pg xvii]
[Pg xviii]
[Pg xix]
585 (Umbrian School), now assigned to "School of Pollajuolo"; for whom, see 292.
591 (Benozzo Gozzoli), now described as "School of Benozzo."
592 (Filippino Lippi), now assigned to Botticelli; see below, p. 294 n.
599 (Giovanni Bellini), now re-assigned to Basaiti; see below, p. 299.
636 (Titian OR Palma). AFTER A PERIOD OF ASCRIPTION TO TITIAN, THIS PORTRAIT IS NOW RE-ASSIGNED TO
Palma;
see below, p. 315.
650 (Angelo Bronzino), now assigned to his pupil, Alessandro Allori (Florentine: 1535-1607).
654 (School of Roger van der Weyden), NOW ASSIGNED TO School of Robert Campin; FOR WHOM, see
2608.
655 (Bernard van Orley), NOW ASCRIBED TO Ambrosius Benson; BORN IN LOMBARDY, PAINTED IN BRUGES,
living in 1545.
658 (after Schongauer), NOW ASSIGNED TO School of Campin. THE PICTURE ASCRIBED TO THE "MASTER OF
Flémalle," as referred to in the text (p. 328), is now No. 2608 (also now assigned to Campin).
659 (Johann Rottenhammer), NOW ASSIGNED TO Jan Brueghel, the younger (1601-1667), A SCHOLAR OF
Brueghel, the elder.
664 (Roger van der Weyden), now assigned to Dierick Bouts; for whom, see 2595.
670 (Angelo Bronzino), now described as "School of Bronzino."
696 (Flemish School), now assigned to Petrus Cristus; for whom, see 2593.
704 (Bronzino), now described as "School of Bronzino."
709 (Flemish School), now assigned to Memlinc; for whom, see 686.
713 (Jan Mostaert), NOW ASSIGNED TO Jan Prevost (FLEMISH: 1462-1529), A PAINTER OF BRUGES AND A
friend of Albert Dürer.
714 (Cornelis Engelbertsz), now assigned to Bernard van Orley; for whom, see 655.
715 (Joachim Patinir), now assigned to Quentin Metsys; for whom, see 295.
750 (Lazzaro Bastiani), now described as "School of Gentile Bellini"; for whom, see 1213.
774 (Flemish School), now assigned to Dierick Bouts; for whom, see 2595.
779, 780 (Borgognone), now described as "School of Borgognone."
781 (Florentine School), now attributed to Botticini.
782 (Botticelli), now described as "School of Botticelli."
808 (Giovanni Bellini), now assigned to Gentile Bellini; see below, p. 422 n.
916 (School of Botticelli), now assigned to Jacopo del Sellaio; for whom, see 2492.
943 (Flemish School), now assigned to D. Bouts.
1017 (Flemish School), now assigned to Josse de Momper; see below, p. 489.
1033 (Filippino Lippi), now assigned to Botticelli; see below, p. 494.
1048 (Italian), now assigned to Scipione Pulzone; see below, p. 505.
1078, 1079 (Flemish School), now "attributed to Gerard David"; for whom, see 1045.
1080 (School of the Rhine), now assigned to Flemish School.
1083 (Flemish School), now assigned to Albrecht Bouts (a son of D. Bouts), who died in 1549.
1085 (School of the Rhine), now assigned to Geertgen Tot Sint Jans (DUTCH: 15TH CENTURY). THIS PAINTER
WAS A PUPIL OF ALBERT VAN OUWATER; HE ESTABLISHED HIMSELF AT HAARLEM IN A CONVENT BELONGING TO THE
Knights of St. John (whence his name, Gerard of St. John's). His works were seen and admired by Dürer.
1086 (Flemish School), now assigned to the "School of Robert Campin"; for whom, see 2608.
1109A (Mengs). TO THIS PICTURE THE NUMBER 1099 (NOTED IN PREVIOUS EDITIONS OF THIS
Handbook AS HAVING
been missed in the official numbering) is now given.
1121 (Venetian School), now assigned to Catena; for whom, see 234.
1124 (Filippino Lippi), now described as "School of Botticelli."
1126 (Botticelli), now assigned to Botticini; see on this subject p. 536 n.
1160 (School of Giorgione), now assigned to Giorgione himself.
1199 (Florentine School), NOW ASSIGNED TO Pier Francesco Fiorentino; A TUSCAN PAINTER OF THE 15TH
[Pg xx]
[Pg xxi]
century.
1376 (Velazquez), now "ascribed to Velazquez."
1412 (Filippino Lippi), now described as "School of Botticelli."
1419 (Flemish School), now assigned to Early French School. THE PICTURE FORMED PART OF A DIPTYCH; THE
COMPANION PICTURE WAS IN THE DUDLEY COLLECTION (NO. 29 IN THE SALE CATALOGUE OF 1892, WHERE AN
ILLUSTRATION OF IT WAS GIVEN). IN THIS THE CHOIR OF ST. DENIS IS SHOWN. THERE ARE TWO PORTRAITS BY THE SAME
hand at Chantilly.
1433 (Flemish School), now assigned to Roger van der Weyden; for whom, see 664.
1434 (Velazquez), NOW "ASCRIBED TO VELAZQUEZ," AND IT IS ADDED THAT THE PICTURE HAS BEEN ATTRIBUTED TO
Luca Giordano (Neapolitan: 1632-1705).
1440 (Giovanni Bellini), now assigned to Gentile Bellini; for whom, see 1213.
1468 (Spinello Aretino), now assigned to Jacopo di Cione, THE YOUNGER BROTHER OF ANDREA CIONE (CALLED
Orcagna); he was still living in 1394.
1652 THIS PICTURE HAS HITHERTO BEEN ASSIGNED TO THE
British School (AND THEREFORE INCLUDED IN VOL. II. OF THE
Handbook), AND CALLED A PORTRAIT OF KATHARINE PARR. IT IS NOW DISCOVERED TO BELONG TO THE
Dutch School
and to be a "portrait of Madame van der Goes."
1699 (Jan Vermeer), now "attributed to Vermeer."
1842 (Tuscan School), NOW "ATTRIBUTED TO
Stefano di Giovanni," KNOWN AS Sassetta (SIENESE: 1392-
1450).
1870 "ANGELS WITH KEYS," BY Sebastiano Conca (NEAPOLITAN: 1679-1764). LENT BY THE VICTORIA AND
Albert Museum.
1903 (Jan Fyt), NOW ASSIGNED TO Pieter Boel (FLEMISH: 1622-1674), OF ANTWERP, WHO BECAME OFFICIAL
painter to Louis XIV.
IT WILL BE OBSERVED THAT CRITICAL FASHIONS ARE UNSTABLE, AND THAT IN SEVERAL CASES SIR EDWARD POYNTER'S CHANGES HAVE BEEN
REVERSED. THE RECENT ALTERATIONS WERE MADE JUST AS THIS EDITION OF THE
Handbook WAS GOING TO PRESS. THE ASCRIPTIONS IN
THE BODY OF MY CATALOGUE REMAIN, THEREFORE, IN CONFORMITY WITH THE OFFICIAL CATALOGUE OF 1906 WHICH EMBODIED SIR
EDWARD POYNTER'S VIEWS. THE LISTS OF PAINTERS AND PICTURES AT THE END (APPENDIX I. AND II.) HAVE, ON THE OTHER HAND,
been revised in accordance with Sir Charles Holroyd's alterations.
Additional Notes.—In the notes upon the pictures, A LARGE NUMBER OF ADDITIONAL REMARKS HAVE BEEN INTRODUCED SINCE
THIS Handbook FIRST APPEARED. THESE, IT IS HOPED, MAY SERVE HERE
AND THERE TO DEEPEN THE VISITOR'S IMPRESSION, TO
SUGGEST FRESH POINTS OF VIEW, TO OPEN UP INCIDENTAL SOURCES OF INTEREST. ATTENTION MAY BE CALLED, BY WAY OF EXAMPLE,
UNDER THIS HEAD, TO SEVERAL NOTES UPON THE DESIGNS DEPICTED ON THE DRESSES, DRAPERIES, AND BACKGROUNDS OF THE ITALIAN
PICTURES. THESE DESIGNS, SOMETIMES INVENTED BY THE ARTISTS THEMSELVES AND SOMETIMES COPIED FROM ACTUAL STUFFS, FORM A
SERIES OF EXAMPLES WHICH ILLUSTRATE THE "ART FABRICS" OF THE BEST PERIOD OF ITALIAN DECORATIVE ART, AND WHICH MIGHT WELL GIVE
HINTS FOR THE DECORATION OF TEXTILE FABRICS TO-DAY.
[11] ANOTHER INCIDENTAL SOURCE OF INTEREST IN A COLLECTION OF PICTURES SUCH
AS OURS, IS THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF ART AS IT MAY BE TRACED IN THE SEVERAL REPRESENTATIONS OF THE SAME SUBJECT BY
DIFFERENT PAINTERS, IN SUCCESSIVE PERIODS, AND IN DIFFERENT SCHOOLS. SUCH COMPARISONS ARE INSTRUCTIVE TO THOSE INTERESTED
ALIKE IN THE EVOLUTION OF ART AND IN THE HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS IDEAS. IN THE ART OF MEDIÆVAL CHRISTENDOM WE FIND AN UNWRITTEN
THEOLOGY, A POPULAR FIGURATIVE TEACHING OF THE SUBLIME STORY OF CHRISTIANITY BLENDED WITH THE TRADITIONS OF MANY
GENERATIONS. ON THE WALLS OF THE NATIONAL GALLERY WE MAY SEE A SERIES OF TYPICAL SCENES FROM THE ANNUNCIATION TO THE
PASSION, FROM THE CHILDHOOD OF CHRIST TO HIS DEATH, RESURRECTION, AND ASCENSION, TOGETHER WITH IDEAL FORMS OF APOSTLES
AND SAINTS. THESE PICTURES, CONTEMPLATED IN SEQUENCE AND COMPARED WITH ONE ANOTHER, AFFORD, AS A WRITER IN THE
Dublin
Review (OCTOBER 1888) HAS POINTED OUT, A LARGE AND INTERESTING FIELD FOR THOUGHT. VERY INTERESTING IT IS ALSO TO TRACE THE
DIFFERENT TYPES WHICH PREVAIL IN THE DIFFERENT SCHOOLS. THUS AT FLORENCE, THE MADONNA IS A TENDER, SHRINKING, DELICATE
MAIDEN. AT VENICE, SHE IS A CALM, SERENE, AND PURE-SPIRITED MOTHER. THE FLORENTINE "HANDMAIDEN OF THE LORD" OFTEN
WEARS A MYSTIC, AND ALMOST ALWAYS AN INTELLECTUAL AIR. THE VENETIAN TYPE, SEEN AT ITS CENTRAL PERFECTION IN BELLINI, HAS A
NECK FIRM AS A COLUMN; THE CHILD IS NUDE AND PLAYS WITH A FLOWER OR FRUIT; GRANDEUR OF MIEN AND A NOBLE TYPE OF
MOTHERHOOD ARE THE IDEALS THE VENETIAN PAINTERS SET BEFORE THEMSELVES. THE LOMBARD MADONNA IS LESS SPIRITUAL AND
SEVERE THAN THE FLORENTINE. A REFINED WORLDLY BEAUTY REPLACES HERE THE POETIC IDEALISM OF THE TUSCAN ARTISTS. WITH THE
UMBRIAN PAINTERS THE MODEL OF THE MADONNA IS USUALLY A SOFTLY-ROUNDED AND VERY GIRLISH MAIDEN. A CERTAIN MYSTIC
PENSIVENESS INFORMS HER FEATURES. HER FEET TREAD THIS EARTH, BUT HER SOUL IS ABSORBED IN THE CONTEMPLATION OF THE
infinite.[12] A STUDY OF THE SUCCESSIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF RAPHAEL'S MADONNAS, PASSING FROM THE VAGUELY DIVINE TO THE
FRANKLY HUMAN, WOULD FORM MATERIAL FOR A VOLUME IN ITSELF.
[13] IN ANOTHER DEPARTMENT OF THE PAINTER'S ART, THE COMPARATIVE
METHOD OF STUDY IS NO LESS SUGGESTIVE. IT IS ONE OF THE MOST CURIOUS POINTS OF INTEREST IN ANY LARGE COLLECTION OF PICTURES TO
NOTICE THE DIFFERENT IMPRESSIONS THAT THE SAME ELEMENTS OF NATURAL SCENERY MAKE UPON DIFFERENT PAINTERS. AS FIGURE
PAINTING CAME TO BE PERFECTED, SOME ADEQUATE SUGGESTION OF LANDSCAPE BACKGROUND WAS REQUIRED. GIOTTO AND ORCAGNA
FIRST ATTEMPTED TO GIVE RESEMBLANCE TO NATURE IN THIS RESPECT. SUBSEQUENT PAINTERS CARRIED THE ATTEMPT TO GREATER SUCCESS,
BUT IT WAS LONG BEFORE LANDSCAPE FOR ITS OWN SAKE OBTAINED ATTENTION. WHEN IT DID, THE PREFERENCES OF INDIVIDUAL PAINTERS,
NOW FREED FROM CONVENTIONALISM, FOUND ABUNDANT SCOPE, AS WE MAY SEE BY PAUSING IN SUCCESSION BEFORE THE FLOWERY
[Pg xxii]
[Pg xxiii]
MEADOWS OF THE "PRIMITIVES," THE "FIERY WOODLANDS OF TITIAN," THE SAVAGE CRAGS OF SALVATOR ROSA, THE "SAFFRON SKIES OF
Claude."[14] THESE ARE SOME OF THE INCIDENTAL POINTS OF INTEREST UPON WHICH ADDITIONAL NOTES HAVE BEEN SUPPLIED IN RECENT
editions. Many others will be discovered by the patient reader of the following pages.
Notices of Painters.—LASTLY, THE biographical and critical notices OF THE PAINTERS HAVE BEEN REVISED AND EXPANDED
SINCE THE FIRST APPEARANCE OF THE BOOK. MANY HAVE BEEN RE-WRITTEN THROUGHOUT, NEARLY ALL HAVE BEEN RE-CAST, AND A GOOD
MANY REFERENCES TO PICTURES IN OTHER GALLERIES AND COUNTRIES HAVE BEEN INTRODUCED. THE IMPORTANT ACCESSION TO THE
NATIONAL GALLERY OF THE ARUNDEL SOCIETY'S UNIQUE COLLECTION OF COPIES FROM THE OLD MASTERS AFFORDS AN OPPORTUNITY EVEN
TO THE UNTRAVELED VISITOR TO BECOME ACQUAINTED, IN SOME SORT, WITH THE MOST FAMOUS WALL-PAINTINGS OF ITALY. MR. RUSKIN,
BY WHOSE DEATH THE NATIONAL GALLERY LOST ONE OF ITS BEST AND OLDEST FRIENDS, ONCE EXPRESSED A HOPE TO ME THAT THE
NOTICES OF THE PAINTERS
GIVEN IN THIS HANDBOOK WOULD BE FOUND USEFUL BY SOME READERS NOT ONLY AS A COMPANION IN
TRAFALGAR SQUARE, BUT ALSO FOR OTHER GALLERIES, AT HOME AND ABROAD. NOBODY CAN KNOW BETTER THAN THE COMPILER HOW FAR
Mr. Ruskin's kindness led him in the direction of over-indulgence.
I CAN ONLY HOPE THAT THE LATER EDITIONS HAVE BEEN MADE—LARGELY OWING TO THE SUGGESTIONS OF CRITICS AND PRIVATE
CORRESPONDENTS—A LITTLE MORE DESERVING OF THE KIND RECEPTION WHICH, NOW FOR A PERIOD OF NEARLY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS, HAS
been given by the public to my Handbook.
E. T. C.
May 1912.
FOOTNOTES:
The Tate Gallery is ten minutes' drive or twenty minutes' walk from Trafalgar Square. It is reached
in a straight line by Whitehall, Parliament Street, past the Houses of Parliament, Millbank Street, and
Grosvenor Road.
Mr. Ruskin himself was converted by the acquisition of the great Perugino (No. 288). In
congratulating the Trustees on their acquisition of this "noble picture," he wrote: "It at once, to my
mind, raises our National Gallery from a second-rate to a first-rate collection. I have always loved the
master, and given much time to the study of his works; but this is the best I have ever seen" (Notes
on the Turner Gallery, p. 89 n.).
See, for instance, Nos. 10, 61, 193, 195, 479 and 498, 757, 790, 896, 1131, and 1171.
The exterior of the building is not generally considered an architectural success, and the ugliness of
the dome is almost proverbial. But it should be remembered that the original design included the
erection of suitable pieces of sculpture—such as may be seen in old engravings of the Gallery, made
from the architect's drawings—on the still vacant pedestals.
The several extensions of the Gallery are shown in the plan on a later page.
The total number should thus be 28; but in the reconstruction four smaller rooms were thrown into
two larger ones. The plan thus shows 25 numbered rooms and one called the "Dome."
This sum only includes amounts paid out of Parliamentary grants or other National Gallery funds or
special contributions.
In 1894, however, an alteration was made in the Minute, and the responsibility for purchases was
vested in the Director and the Trustees jointly.
Sir William Gregory relates in his Autobiography the following story: "In 1884, when the Trustees
were endeavouring to secure some of the pre-eminently fine Rubenses from the Duke of
Marlborough, Alfred Rothschild met me in St. James's Street, and said, 'If you think the Blenheim
Rubenses are more important than your Dutch pictures to the Gallery, and that you cannot get the
money from the Government, I am prepared to give you £250,000 for the Peel pictures; and I will
hold good to this offer till the day after to-morrow.'"
Of the 1170 pieces thus unaccounted for (the total number belonging to the Trustees being roughly
2870) the greater number are at Millbank. Others are on loan to provincial institutions (see App. II.).
With this object in view, several of them have been published with descriptive letterpress by Mr.
[Pg xxiv]
[Pg xxv]
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]
[11]
Sydney Vacher.
These contrasts were worked out and illustrated by Mr. Grant Allen in his papers on "The Evolution
of Italian Art" in the Pall Mall Magazine for 1895.
See Raphael's Madonnas, by Karl Károly, 1894.
Ruskin's Modern Painters is of course the great book on this subject. The evolution of "Landscape in
Art" has been historically treated by Mr. Josiah Gilbert in a work thus entitled, which contains
numerous illustrations from the National Gallery.
[12]
[13]
[14]
GUIDE TO THE GALLERY
AND
INTRODUCTIONS TO THE SCHOOLS OF PAINTING
THE PICTURES IN THE NATIONAL GALLERY ARE HUNG METHODICALLY, SO FAR AS THE WALL-SPACE AND OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES WILL ADMIT,
IN ORDER TO ILLUSTRATE THE DIFFERENT SCHOOLS OF PAINTING, AND TO FACILITATE THEIR HISTORICAL STUDY. INTRODUCTIONS TO THE SEVERAL
FOREIGN SCHOOLS OF PAINTING, THUS ARRANGED, WILL BE FOUND IN THE FOLLOWING PAGES TOGETHER WITH REFERENCES TO MANY OF THE
CHIEF PAINTERS IN EACH SCHOOL WHO ARE REPRESENTED IN THE GALLERY. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS ON THE BRITISH SCHOOL AND BRITISH
Painters will be found in Volume II.
AT THE PRESENT TIME (MAY 1912) THE ARRANGEMENT OF THE GALLERY IS IN A TRANSITIONAL STATE, AS SOME OF THE ROOMS ARE STILL IN
PROCESS OF RECONSTRUCTION OR REARRANGEMENT. WHEN THIS WORK IS FINISHED, THE ARRANGEMENT OF THE WHOLE GALLERY WILL, IT IS
expected, be as shown below:—
ARCHAIC GREEK PORTRAITS: North Vestibule.
ITALIAN SCHOOLS:—
Early Tuscan: North Vestibule.
Florentine and Sienese: Rooms I., II., V.
Florentine (later): Room III.
Milanese: Room IV.
Umbrian: Room VI.
Venetian: Room VII.
Venetian (later): Room IX.
Paduan: Room VIII.
Venice, etc.: the Dome.
Brescian and Bergamese: Room XV.
Bolognese: Room XXV.
Late Italian: Room XXIII.
SCHOOLS OF THE NETHERLANDS AND GERMANY:—
Early Netherlands: Room XI.
Later Flemish (Rubens, etc.): Room X.
Dutch (landscape: Ruysdael, etc.): Room XII.
Dutch (Rembrandt): Room XIII.
Dutch: Room XIV.
German: Room XXIV.
SPANISH SCHOOL: Room XVI.
FRENCH SCHOOL: Rooms XVII., XVIII.
BRITISH SCHOOLS:—
Hogarth, etc.: Room XXII.
Reynolds, Gainsborough, etc.: Room XXI.
Romney, Morland, etc.: Room XX.
Turner: Room XIX.
THE ROOMS ON THE GROUND FLOOR, HITHERTO OCCUPIED BY THE TURNER WATER-COLOURS (NOW FOR THE MOST PART REMOVED TO THE
Tate Gallery: see VOL. II.), WILL BE ARRANGED WITH PICTURES OF MINOR IMPORTANCE, WITH THE ARUNDEL SOCIETY'S COLLECTION AND
other copies, and with photographs and other aids to study.
IT SHOULD, HOWEVER, BE UNDERSTOOD THAT THE SCHEME OF ARRANGEMENT SET OUT ABOVE IS PROVISIONAL, AND MAY BE MODIFIED. IT
IS ALSO POSSIBLE THAT THE NUMBERING OF THE ROOMS MAY BE ALTERED. SHOULD THIS BE THE CASE, THE VISITOR WOULD HAVE NO
difficulty in marking the changes on the Plan.
PLAN OF THE ROOMS.
[Pg xxvi]
[Pg xxvii]
[Pg xxviii]
[Pg 1]
THE EARLY FLORENTINE SCHOOL
"THE EARLY EFFORTS OF CIMABUE AND GIOTTO ARE THE BURNING MESSAGES OF PROPHECY, DELIVERED BY THE
stammering lips of infants"
(RUSKIN: Modern Painters, vol. i. pt. i. sec. i. ch. ii. § 7).
Give these, I exhort you, their guerdon and glory
For daring so much, before they well did it.
The first of the new, in our race's story,
Beats the last of the old; 'tis no idle quiddit.
BROWNING: Old Pictures in Florence.
ON ENTERING THE GALLERY FROM TRAFALGAR SQUARE, AND ASCENDING THE MAIN STAIRCASE, THE VISITOR REACHES THE NORTH
VESTIBULE. WHAT, HE MAY BE INCLINED TO ASK, IS THERE WORTH LOOKING AT IN THE QUAINT AND GAUNT PICTURES AROUND HIM HERE?
THE ANSWER IS A VERY SIMPLE ONE. THIS VESTIBULE IS THE NURSERY OF ITALIAN ART. HERE IS THE FIRST STAMMERING OF INFANT PAINTING.
ACCUSTOMED AS WE ARE AT THE PRESENT DAY TO SO MUCH TECHNICAL SKILL EVEN IN THE COMMONEST WORKS OF ART, WE MAY BE
INCLINED TO THINK THAT THE ART OF PAINTING—THE ART OF GIVING THE RESEMBLANCES OF THINGS BY MEANS OF COLOUR LAID ON TO WOOD
OR CANVAS—IS AN EASY ONE, OF WHICH MEN HAVE EVERYWHERE AND AT ALL TIMES POSSESSED THE MASTERY. BUT THIS OF COURSE IS
NOT THE CASE. THE SKILL
OF TO-DAY IS THE ACQUIRED RESULT OF LONG CENTURIES OF GRADUAL IMPROVEMENT; AND THE PICTURES IN THIS
VESTIBULE BEAR THE SAME RELATION TO THE PICTURES OF OUR OWN TIME AS THE STONE HUTS OF OUR FOREFATHERS TO THE GALLERY IN
WHICH WE STAND. THE POORNESS OF THE PICTURES HERE IS THE MEASURE OF THE RICHNESS OF OTHERS. TO FEEL THE FULL GREATNESS OF
RAPHAEL'S MADONNA (1171), ONE SHOULD FIRST PAUSE AWHILE BEFORE THE EARLIEST ITALIAN PICTURE HERE (564), THE GAUNT AND
forbidding Madonna by
Margaritone of Arezzo,
With the grave-clothes garb and swaddling barret
(Why purse up mouth and beak in a pet so,
You bald old saturnine poll-clawed parrot?) (R. Browning).
BUT EVEN IN THE EARLIEST EFFORTS OF INFANCY, THERE IS A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF INHERITED GIFT. FIRST OF ALL, THEREFORE, ONE SHOULD
LOOK AT A SPECIMEN OF SUCH ART AS ITALIANS HAD BEFORE THEM WHEN THEY FIRST BEGAN TO PAINT FOR THEMSELVES. WITH THE FALL OF
THE ROMAN EMPIRE AND THE INVASION OF THE GOTHS, THE CENTRE OF CIVILISATION SHIFTED TO THE CAPITAL OF THE EASTERN CHURCH,
BYZANTIUM (CONSTANTINOPLE). THE CHARACTERISTICS OF BYZANTINE ART MAY BE SEEN IN A GREEK PICTURE (594). THE HISTORY OF
EARLY ITALIAN ART IS THE HISTORY OF THE EFFORT TO ESCAPE FROM THE SWADDLING CLOTHES OF THIS RIGID BYZANTINE SCHOOL. THE EFFORT
WAS OF TWO KINDS: FIRST THE PAINTERS HAD TO SEE NATURE TRULY, INSTEAD OF CONTENTING THEMSELVES WITH FIXED SYMBOLS—ART HAD
TO BECOME "NATURAL," INSTEAD OF "CONVENTIONAL." SECONDLY, HAVING LEARNED TO SEE TRULY, THEY HAD TO LEARN HOW TO GIVE A
TRUE RESEMBLANCE OF WHAT THEY SAW; HOW TO EXHIBIT THINGS IN RELIEF, IN PERSPECTIVE, AND IN ILLUMINATION. IN
relief: THAT IS,
THEY HAD TO LEARN TO SHOW ONE THING AS STANDING OUT FROM ANOTHER; IN
perspective: THAT IS, TO SHOW THINGS AS THEY REALLY
LOOK, INSTEAD OF AS WE INFER THEY ARE; IN
illumination: THAT IS, TO SHOW THINGS IN THE COLOURS THEY ASSUME UNDER SUCH AND
such LIGHTS. THE FIRST DISTINCT ADVANCE WAS MADE BY CIMABUE AND GIOTTO AT FLORENCE, BUT CONTEMPORANEOUS WITH THEM
WAS THE SIMILAR WORK OF DUCCIO AND HIS SUCCESSORS AT SIENA, WHOSE PICTURES SHOULD BE STUDIED IN THIS CONNECTION.
VARIOUS STAGES IN THE ADVANCE WILL BE POINTED OUT UNDER THE PICTURES THEMSELVES; AND THE STUDENT OF ART WILL PERHAPS FIND
THE SAME KIND OF PLEASURE IN TRACING THE PAINTER'S PROGRESS AS GROWN-UP PEOPLE FEEL IN WATCHING THE GRADUAL DEVELOPMENT
of children.
BUT THERE IS ANOTHER KIND OF INTEREST ALSO. WORDSWORTH SAYS THAT CHILDREN ARE THE BEST PHILOSOPHERS; AND IN THE CASE OF ART
AT ANY RATE THERE IS SOME TRUTH IN WHAT HE SAYS, FOR "THIS IS A GENERAL LAW, THAT SUPPOSING THE INTELLECT OF THE WORKMAN THE
SAME, THE MORE IMITATIVELY COMPLETE HIS ART, THE LESS HE WILL MEAN BY IT; AND THE RUDER THE SYMBOL, THE DEEPER IS ITS
INTENTION" (RUSKIN'S Lectures on Art, § 19). THE MORE COMPLETE HIS POWERS OF IMITATION BECOME, THE MORE INTELLECTUAL
INTEREST HE TAKES IN THE EXPRESSION, AND THE LESS THEREFORE IN THE THING MEANT. WHAT THEN IS THE MEANING OF THESE EARLY
PICTURES? TO ANSWER THIS QUESTION, WE MUST GO BACK TO CONSIDER WHAT IT WAS THAT GAVE THE ORIGINAL IMPULSE TO THE REVIVAL
OF ART IN ITALY. TO THIS REVIVAL TWO CIRCUMSTANCES CONTRIBUTED. FIRST, NO SCHOOL OF PAINTING CAN EXIST UNTIL SOCIETY IS
COMPARATIVELY RICH, UNTIL THERE IS WEALTH ENOUGH TO SUPPORT A CLASS OF MEN WITH LEISURE TO PRODUCE BEAUTIFUL THINGS. SUCH
an increase of wealth took place at Florence in the thirteenth century: the gay and courteous life of the Florentines at that
TIME WAS READY FOR THE ADORNMENT OF ART. THE PARTICULAR DIRECTION WHICH ART TOOK WAS DUE TO THE RELIGIOUS REVIVAL, HEADED
BY ST. FRANCIS AND ST. DOMINIC, WHICH OCCURRED AT THE...
